Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-12-02
OLYMPIA. WASHINGTON TER.
OLYMPIA. FRIDAY EVENING, Die. 2, 1851.
A Matter of Growing Importance.

A Matter of Growing Importance.
One subject which it seems the party
OF reform has failed to consider is the
necessity OF different policy regard
ing surveys of the public lands. This
matter appears to be entirely misunder
stood at Washington, and its impor
lance ignored, to the great inconven.
fence and i'll many cases positive loss
OF those who are endeavoring to build
up homes on the frontier and to spread
the blessings of civilization over the
broad expanse of our national domain
1t is well-known fact that the min.
MUM rates now paid by the Govern
ment for surveys are totally inadequate
for the service required, especially in
Western Washington, densely tim
bered district. These are SO for stand.
ard and meander lines, 81 for town
ship and S. for section lines. Under
the appropriation for the year ending
June 80, 1856, for the survey of four
teen townships at these rates, no bids
were offered, for the simple reason that
the cost of labor would leave no mar
gin for profit to contractors at the min
MUM prices, if it did not entail positive
loss. That the necessity for extension
OF the public surveys is urgent, is shown
by the files of the Surveyor Generals
office, which contain applications from
bona fde settlers for the survey of forty.
eight townships in Western Washing
ton and thirteen from the Eastern di
vision of the Territory. According tc
these, which have been kindly submit
ted to our inspection by Surveyor Gen
eral Breckenridge, there are from fv,
to One-hundred actual settlers in eacl
township, who are occupying and i'm
proving these lands for agricultural
purposes. In some of them extensive
Improvements have been made, il
clearing land, erecting permanent
houses and barns, building fences, cut
ting roads, erecting school houses, ant
In developing prosperous communitie.
in districts that were but few years
ago literally the wilderness. These set
tiers very justly complain of the neg
lect of the Government in affordins
them the means of making defnit,
location of their holdings, as we'll Al
the uncertainties under which thei
Improvements are made.
The Department, in reply to appli
cations Ofor the. survey of coal land
and tracts valuable chiefly for timber
have informed applicants that it wa
the policy of the Government to con
fine the surveys to agricultural lands
and agricultural and grazing combined
which embrace existing settlements
actually occupied and improved b,
bona fde residents" The land offic,
at Washington, under this ruling, seen
to lose sight of the fact that all tn,
lands embraced in the applications O
survey in Western Washington ar
heavily timbered, and that there is no
a township, nor a considerable part o
a township of unsurveyed lands ives
of the Cascade mountains, that is no
more or less heavily timbered, and tina
those portions taken for and adapte'
to agricultural purposes, besides bein,
heavily timbered, are covered with
thick and almost impenetrable under
growth of brush, vines, roots, etc
making it the most difficult and ex
pensive surveying of any lands in tn
Territory. Lands of this characte
are the only strictly agricultural land
in Western Washington.
No contracts have been awarded TO
surveys west of the Cascades sine
November 20, 1884, over three years
and 80 completely has this interes
been ignored by the Department, tina
the Surveyor General has not been ad
vised that Congress made any appro
priatiOn at its last session, for this sur
veying district.
That the augmented rates provide,
for by section 2,405 r. S. are not NOR
than are just for heavily timbered land
is shown by the report of the deput,
who surveyed Township 81 Nortl
Range East OF Willamette Meridian
1t is as follows:
Amount paid for subsistence aud
transportation observation-disclosures 321
Amount paid tor labor .. 1882 Q
Amount paid for interest on mon
ey advanced Observation-Disclosures. 377
Actual cost of survey. 81, 03l Q
Amount received from Govern
menu. ............ ], SUB
Cost over amount received. %. s527 9
To this must be added, of course
the loss of time and labor of the DEP
uty. The rates paid on this contrac
were SIS for standard, SIG for town
ship and $13 for meanders per mile.
This may be an exceptional cast
but it sufiices to show that Govern
ment rates can only be made availabl
by settlers paying part of the expens.
an alternative that should not be i'm
posed upon the oftentimes needy p
Oneer
Let us hope that Congress will Civ
some thought to this matter, for it
justice is so apparent that, We appre
bend. to think will be to act.